Silent Echoes
by PhantomShadowKat
Summary: Maddie ponders the silent echoes of her mind in the late night solitude.
1. Echoes

Chapter One: Echoes

She had seen things see wasn't supposed to see, heard things she wasn't supposed to hear. Now they all echoed and bounced, tumbling around in her head like tennis shoes in a dryer, each one worsening her headache with a resounding "THUNK!"

_Flashback_

"By the authority invested in me by the city of Amity Park, I sentence you back from whence you came!" Maddie yelled with the Fenton Bazooka to Phantom's head, ready to pull the trigger.

"Oh man, I have got to start paying more attention in these fights." Phantom mumbled to himself.

"Honey, forgot to fully charge Fenton Bazooka. - Jack. P.S.: Can I have a cookie?" Maddie read the note she suddenly found affixed to the bazooka's side to herself.

"With that, I bid you a fair farewell." he said before he flew away.

"You haven't seen the last of me!" She said, waving her fist.

"Duh, I'll see you at dinner." Phantom said as he flew off, up through the ceiling.

_End Flashback_

She remembered being very cautious that night at dinner, but nothing happened...

Those rings, she had seen them on occasion too. It was almost as if he was reverting back to a human form... But that wasn't possible, was it?

The ghost boy, Danny Phantom, resembled her son, Danny Fenton, so much. And a mother knows her own child when she sees him, no matter what. Phantom was somehow tied to Danny, and she would not stop thinking about the possibilities and evidence until she puzzled it out...

There was something going on between Jazz and Danny, some sort of secret... They were always talking together and Jazz was always concerned. Yeah, maybe she was just being a good sister, but she had never been _this _good of a sister before... before... before what? Well, just before. Jazz always prevented Jack and herself from going after Phantom, too... Maybe Phantom was a spectral projection of Danny that separated off of him during the accident. That would be why Phantom wasn't completely evil! Then Danny would feel responsible for him, and he would talk to Jazz for damage control and...

No, that wouldn't explain the other things. Like his eyes. She had watched the ebb and flow of glowing green around Danny's irises when he was angry. She had once even caught his hand glowing. The glow was quickly quelled, but it was there all the same. Danny sometimes said the same things as Phantom too... But her Danny couldn't be the ghost boy... could he?


	2. Sonic Sounds

Chapter Two: Sonic Sounds

Maddie had pretty much been on autopilot doing "mom things" while she was still downstairs. It was late, and everyone in the house was asleep. As she wiped down the counter from her latest batch of cookies and Jack's wrestle with ecto-leftovers, she returned to her thoughts.

Danny's grades had slipped since the accident, even though he was never sick. It was like he was missing chunks of class. He wouldn't skip, would he? Phantom _had_ been spotted on several occasions during school hours... He was also frequently seen after school and into the evening, when Danny was _never _at home although he really should've been home and doing his homework. Danny always claimed to be with Tucker and Sam, however. They would hang out with him, even if he were the ghost boy, (which he's not! she chided herself) because they're so close though.

Her voice of reason bickered with her inner mother, but neither voice could take a side because they'd each pointed out things for both sides of her internal argument. She felt like she had the startings of a really bad migraine...

The next thing on the ever-growing list that was bugging her was that Phantom appeared to have complex emotions. Most ghosts only had the basics (like happy, sad, and angry), and their judgment was usually clouded. They seemingly had no conscience and no-ill will towards hurting people, but she didn't have quite enough data to back her statement. Phantom always looked like he was trying _not to_ hurt people. He always appeared consumed with the lesser emotions like doubt, worry, fear, frustration, elation, joy, shock, and the one that bothered her most... love. She didn't quite know why it bothered her the most. Each of the emotions she listed should've bothered her equally, since they were all part of a bigger bother.

The ghost boy acted a lot like Danny, except cockier. Danny seemed more withdrawn, shy almost. He only had two best friends, his sister, an ex-girlfriend now turned okay friend, and himself. The ghost boy was more self-assured and confident, although (she suspected before she could beat it back to the recesses of her mind with a stick) super-powers could do that to anyone.

Maddie began to silently pad up the stairs to go to bed. Actually, thinking back on it, when she'd heard Phantom speak, his voice sounded peculiarly like Danny's. There was just that weird "echo-y" sound added to it...

She had almost reached the top of the stairs when she was wrenched from her thoughts by Danny's voice. Whether it was Phantom's or Fenton's, she couldn't say, but if it was Phantom's and he was hurting Danny, by golly he had another thing coming, that foul combination of spectral energies!

"Ow, ow, ow! Shit!"


	3. Unspied Observer

Chapter Three: Unspied Observer

Maddie swiftly and stealthily approached the top of the stairs after she heard the voice. Danny was never one to cuss and she had to admit that she was quite thankful. Most kids his age could list off a string of words that could make a sailor blush and she didn't like hearing them come from her son's mouth. Luckily, he kept it clean on his own. She guessed it just wasn't in her son's personality.

Danny's door was slightly ajar and she could just barely see into his room. What she saw ripped a sharp, ragged gasp from her throat.

Phantom was floating by the window and muttering to himself as he nursed a large gash running down his left calf, green ectoplasm dripping everywhere in a sick mockery of blood. His suit was torn at the knee and he began to peel down the makeshift boot. The suit was also ripped across his chest, where it revealed another laceration bleeding ectoplasm profusely. Yet another oozed a slow flow of ectoplasm on his cheek.

"Shit shit shitty shit! Damnit Fenton! You just had to be slow! No, you wouldn't go the 120 m.p.h. like in training with Sam and Tuck. You just had to be lazy, and whattdaya know? You didn't have time to get the thermos! You got slashed by Skulker's blades! Skulker, of all people er... ghosts! If Paulina hadn't been fawning over you, you might've gotten out of the way in time, but no! She had to be there too! You had to save her, so what happened, you got hurt! Okay, calm down Fenton, before you wake Mom and Dad up... or worse... Jazz... She's gonna freak when she sees this. How am I gonna walk without the whole world noticing?... damn damn damn..."

Maddie was completely thrown off by his interchanging first, second, and third person. Her headache didn't help either as she tried to puzzle along. Was Phantom berating Danny because he messed him up? No, the bed was empty... Ugh, she had been so close to just drawing the conclusion that they were the same person and being alright with it when she heard him!

"Alright, come on, think... Well, I don't know how to treat myself when I'm in ghost mode, so I'll have to do it when I'm just me... Damn this is gonna hurt _so _much worse... Alright Fenton, get it over with..."

Maddie watched as the elusive rings appeared at his middle and split: one moving up while the other went down. Their separation seemed to take forever. As the one went up, it left in its wake a white t-shirt... with a red logo… that was ripped exactly across his chest where his suit was... At the exact same time, the one moving down revealed his jeans... oh... they were ripped at the knee, the gash in the same place... _red _blood running down and mixing with the green... And his face, she looked up again, the familiar clothes letting her know who it would be, but the sight shocking her all the same... Her baby, her poor baby! He was bleeding all over the place! The red blood followed the green on a trail down his face; his glowing green eyes now back to their beautiful icy blue. His shirt was saturated in blood before he hit the floor from where he had previously been floating.

She could tell he wanted to yell out in pain once he hit the floor, immediately recoiling his left leg in shock, the swirls of blood staining his sneakers in a pool around his feet. She wanted to run to him so badly, but she knew she shouldn't.

"Augh! Damnit Fenton! So dumb! I knew I was floating, I was doing it to keep the weight off, and what do I do? I land right on it!" He sat wearily down on his bed and reached underneath, pulling out the Fenton family emergency aid kit... So that's where it got to! He began to bandage his leg, wincing and inhaling sharply through his teeth. The blood soaked his sheets. He took the edge of his shirt and wiped his cheek off, pulling off his shirt once he was done. He then proceeded to try and bandage his chest, and right at that moment she wished to go to him with an overwhelming force, but she fought it hard. He pulled off his shoes and pants, and he was left in his boxers.

Maddie watched as he sunk through the floor and then reappeared mere seconds later with a roll of paper towels. He put some on the puddle of blood by the window and then looked at his bed. He limped over to it with a pained expression and placed his hand on the bed. For a moment it looked transparent (like a hologram she mused), and then she heard the sound of splattering. He had turned the bed intangible to remove the blood. Fascinating! He laid a few more paper towels down underneath the bed and returned to the ones he had previously placed, trying in vain to remove every drop of blood. He retrieved the ones from under the bed after dealing with the first pile.

He put the paper towels with his ruined clothes and picked them all up. The goopy mix of blood got all over his hands and Maddie felt faintly nauseous, like she was going to be sick. He tossed the bundle out of the window and blasted it before it could even hit the street. He looked at his tennis shoes and wiped them off with a paper towel, along with his hands, before phasing back through the floor and returning the paper towels to their proper spot.

"I really hope no one notices anything..." he sighed before rolling into bed and promptly falling asleep. Maddie couldn't help but think how cute he was. He was her son after all. She tiptoed in and kissed his forehead before going downstairs to get the proper cleaning supplies to clean up his mess. If she didn't, there would be bizarre red and green blood stains all over the place. She was still grappling with everything inside her, and this task would let her think in peace.


	4. Grappling with Forbidden Concepts

Chapter Four: Grappling with Forbidden Concepts

Maddie headed back down the stairs, thoughts racing around in stomach-churning circles inside her head. Although the world around her was silent, the thoughts in her head made it seem as though even the stars screamed out from their silent solitude in the heavens. She just needed to untangle the jumble of thoughts in her head. She needed to dissect them and lay them out in neat little rows, where she could examine each one of them scientifically: separately and slowly. She was a scientist after all.

She made her way to the utility closet, scanning the rows of cleaners (and, yes, ghost cleaners that just happened to double as weapons). She looked over all the ghost cleaners; they hadn't been tested much, just during the aftermath of the invasion, and they didn't have the most pleasant effect on ghost DNA (they either burnt through anything that had been touched by ghosts or they sent up fumes that knocked ghosts, and some people (including Jack) out for an undetermined period of time). She grabbed the things she needed and returned to Danny's room.

As she knelt down and began to clean the sick mess of goopy and somewhat congealed blood that stained the floor under his window, she re-submerged herself in her thoughts. She didn't know who this Skulker ghost was, but if he could do this to her Danny, oh, she'd love to wallop him with the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick! Also, wasn't Paulina that girl from school? Why was she there? And then there was the fact that Danny was Phantom as well...

_Slow down Maddie_, she thought to herself._ Focus on the big picture first and worry about details later._ _Let's start with the biggest thing: Danny. _ She loved him with all of her heart, and she was positive she could and would accept him; she just needed some time for adjustment. She decided she wouldn't tell him that she knew about his double identity. He could figure it out on his own if it ever came down to that.

_How did it happen?_ That thought repeatedly wormed its way into her head, even though she already knew the answer: the accident with the portal. She wasn't there, or really supposed to know about it at all, for that matter, but she was a mom, and she had eves-dropped on more than a few conversations. Apparently he was in the portal when he miraculously started it, and he must have bonded with some of the fabric in the ghost zone, rearranging his molecular structure and half killing him. The question remained in her mind, however, because of her scientist's instincts. She decided to file it away for scientific study and some minor experimentation later. That was one piece of this dastardly conundrum knocked out.

Slowly, everything fell into place, except the mayor attack and the town meeting... But maybe he thought Jack and she were overshadowed. The mayor had been overshadowed: she watched the wolf-like ghost pull the other ghost out of him. Yes, that made sense. Another piece clicked into place.

How did Danny cope with so many serious injuries, and how had she not noticed them? She tried to stop berating herself for not noticing his wounds; apparently he was an okay liar, and she knew she was more than gullible when it came to trusting her own son. She still didn't know how he withstood the injuries, but, again, she filed it away for later use and questioning.

The threads of thought from the knot of her mind began to loosen and she picked them apart, straightening them while drying the now clean floor out in the real world, away from the recesses of her mind. She was slowly working through it. She moved over beside the bed, kissing Danny's hand before replacing it beside him after it had fallen off the bed and then re-tucking the sheets around him. He murmured something about saving the world from the evil poets of the 19th-century and rolled over. She smiled. He was always saving the world, even in his sleep. She nearly laughed at this thought. If you had told her a year ago that Danny would be out saving the world every day, she would have laughed, wiped her eyes, and told you, yes, he was special, but he still had to grow into it, because, frankly, right now he couldn't even remember to tie his shoes, much less clean the lab or finish any other menial task he was given.

She felt a little silly, cleaning in the manner she was underneath of his bed, but she could see the goop gathering on the towel she had and knew that she had to. She decided on a real towel so that she could save his blood, however odd that might seem, to study it. She was truly a scientist at heart.

Skulker must be one of the bad ghosts (if there even are any good ones besides Danny). He wasn't the one obsessed with boxes, she knew. He probably wasn't the one obsessed with technology either... That left the only other ghost she had often seen in conflict with her Danny, the hunter. "Oh, when I get my hands on him!" she fumed, thinking of several torture methods she would love to send him through. She laughed, a little hysterically, out loud, before clawing at her mouth in shock, and holding her breath. Danny rolled over again, falling off of his bed and onto the floor on the opposite side of the bed. He opened his mouth and snorted a little, before choking and rolling over again. She smiled to herself again. Asleep, he reminded her very much so of Jack. She was sure, however, that his physical genes came from her side of the family, the side lacking the ranch dressing and fudge. She was a little startled when he started to hover, but quickly ignored it as she set to work underneath of the bed again.

Paulina must be a fan girl of Danny's, but apparently only his more elusive half. Ironically, he was smitten with her, but she rejected him at every turn when he wasn't playing superhero. That made sense. She must've been there when he was fighting Skulker. She probably got in the way _just_ so that he would have to save her. Maddie's hand tightened on the bottle of cleaner in it. That thought infuriated her! She would just have to march right down there and set that silly girl straight! _No_, her voice of reason told her, _this is Danny's thing_. He'd figure out something was up before she was ready if she set Paulina straight, because that girl had absolutely no filter between what she had for a brain and her mouth. After working through that final snarl, the knot in her mind lay in nice, clean strands, easily looped up and stored.

Maddie got up and looked at Danny, who was now floating beside the bed. She leaned over the bed and tried to pull him back onto the bed. To her surprise, he was quite light. He then dropped down, making the bed creak with the sudden increase in weight. He lazily opened his eyes, and Maddie quickly stashed the cleaning supplies and towel under the bed. He looked up at her and she smiled.

"Merr-om? Urg, what are you doing beside my bed with this time of night, ernd stuff?" he asked, voice clogged with sleep.

Maddie smiled. "Just checking up on you sweetie, I thought I heard someone talking." His eyes widened in horror, but he quickly disguised it with an excuse.

"I was talking in my sleep _again_?" (Jazz _had_ been known to complain about this.)

"I guess so. Now that I know you're okay, I'm going to go back to bed. Night night, honey."

"Mmm, g'night" he said, and rolled over.

Maddie put away the cleaning things, hiding the blood soaked towel in a place her husband would never look, with the cleaning stuff. She put it on the highest shelf (which was empty) because Danny and Jazz had to clean stuff, too.

She shuffled up the stairs once more to get ready for bed. She checked in on Danny one last time, and then finally slipped into bed, promptly achieving much earned and deserved sleep.


	5. Condolences Or Not

Chapter Five: Condolences (Or Not)

Sadly, silky sleep and the condolences it offers cannot last, and Maddie slipped from her peaceful bliss when the rising of the sun shot shards and tendrils of its warm haze into her bedroom window to lay itself in all different places about the room, which included laying itself about her face. This meant that she would have to get up and face the world, however foreboding it may or may not have been.

Maddie did not really like the consequences of getting up today; the new knowledge she possessed did nothing to help her rise. She loved Danny as only a mother could love her child, but she was she frustratedly grappling with, well, she hated to think of it this way, but _what _he was. It sounded like she was calling him a creature, not a human, not a sentient being. She tried to swipe her scientific terms away, relishing in normalcy, at least for the Fenton household, as she dressed and descended the stairs.

Maddie was drawn to the lab, but she restrained herself and drifted into her early-summer morning routine. She got the paper, stepping out into the sweet morning air quickly and making a grab for it in the noise of Amity before beating a speedy retreat back to the quiet confines of the kitchen. Jazz came down the stairs, reading a (what else, she thought with a quick, proud, and fiercely maternal grin) psychology book, and silently fixed herself some coffee, joining Maddie at the table.

It was 6:30 AM and Maddie was glad for the silent company Jazz offered. The women of the Fenton household rose with the sun, while their male counterparts… Well, let's just say they didn't have the fondness for mornings she and Jazz shared.

Maddie had just gotten started on her second cup of coffee and Jazz was going for an unusual third when it sounded as though a circus was falling down the stairs.

"Cue Danny," Jazz said softly, looking up momentarily with a smile and nose scrunched in playfulness at her mother. Maddie only chuckled. The morning silence shared between the girls was over, and it was time to get down to the nitty-gritty with the boys.

Danny pretty much fell down the stairs, as was his habit when getting up, as he said, "unreasonably early". He was meeting Samantha and Tucker to go to some amusement park or some such thing... Floody Waters, was it? Anyway, he had to get up early. Well, early for _him_.

When he hit the bottom (on his back, feet and legs suspended over him), he looked more than a little dazed. He, too, was greeted with a cup of coffee. Maddie had immediately prepared it when the first of the metaphorical circus had begun the cacophonous journey down the stairs. While she usually didn't like Danny to drink coffee (she had tried to stop Jazz a year or so ago, but it was too late and it became obvious that Jazz was firmly addicted), she figured today was an exception, especially with this newly discovered part of his life. Maddie figured he deserved it. To be safe, however, it had been vigorously diluted with milk and sugar.

Danny graciously took the coffee-milk after he had righted himself from his comical position. Maddie noticed he had wisely put on some sweat-pants, but was still bare-chested...

Maddie did a double take at his now perfectly fine, if not a bit wimpy, chest. Danny kicked up a questioning eyebrow, but Maddie just shook her head, again filing it away for later questioning.

Once Danny had downed his coffee, he began to grumble. He was on the hunt for some breakfast, and his actions could be described only by the word foraging. Apparently primal instincts are still rooted firmly in the male... Maddie swallowed a grin at his antics while Jazz just shook her head.

Danny sat down with what he must've thought was a bowl, some cereal, a spoon, and the jug of milk, but sadly he thought wrong. In reality he had a salad plate, some instant oatmeal, a knife, and the container of orange juice.

Danny was having a bit of trouble retrieving his concoction once he prepared it, but finally resolved in his sleep-filled state to tilt the "bowl" up to him. Maddie didn't notice until it was too late. She shot a reprimanding look at Jazz who only snickered.

"KUGH-UMPH!" he choked out, splattering the kitchen table with the "cereal". "KYAAAAH! AAAACK! GET IT OFF GET IT OFF **GET IT OFF!**" Danny was wide awake now and Jazz was in stitches. "EWW!" Maddie was also having a hard time keeping a straight face.

Maddie got a dishrag to wipe up the table and quickly confiscated Danny's "breakfast", pouring it down the garbage disposal and placing the plate in the dishwasher. Danny just looked completely shocked, as though the table had leapt up, bitten him, called him names, and then returned to normal. Jazz just thought this was hilarious.

"Oh, thanks Jazz, thanks a lot." he said, his words dripping with bitterness and sarcasm.

"Yo-you-you're very- HA HA HA!" she sputtered out into another fit of laughter. Danny glowered at her from across the table.

"I think I've lost my appetite." Danny said with more bitterness. "I'm gonna go get dressed now." Danny made his movements slowly and deliberately, but unfortunately for him, in his fit of disgust and panicked upheavals, his left pant-leg had hitched up to his knee and Maddie and Jazz got a good look at the nasty cut. Maybe his chest had healed completely, but his calf certainly had not. He did not, however, have to limp anymore. Jazz inhaled sharply, more of a gasp than anything, but tried to hide it, and Maddie only cringed. Danny's head jerked up and he wrenched his pant-leg down with super-speed.

Once Danny made it up the stairs, Maddie pretended not to have seen it. Jazz looked up at her and saw right through her act, however. Darn those psychology books!

"Mom? We need to talk..."


	6. Telling Scrutiny

Chapter 6: Telling Scrutiny

_"Mom? We need to talk..."_

"_Well, this certainly doesn't bode well..._" Maddie thought to herself as she turned her attention to Jazz, who peered up questioningly, seemingly contemplating just how much Maddie really knew.

"Have you noticed anything strange about Danny? Anything strange at all?" Jazz asked, testing the waters.

"No dear, why? Have you?" Maddie thought fast, trying to play it off. She wasn't too keen on having Jazz figure out what she knew. Jazz would probably tell Danny, even if was against her wishes.

"No, I was just checking." Jazz looked a little suspicious, but said nothing more.

Danny came downstairs in a white wife-beater and swimming trunks. He had skillfully draped his towel across his leg, and kept it that way. He tried once again at cereal, this time succeeding. He poured the milk while scowling at a giggling Jazz, who was now eating some toast while still reading. Maddie couldn't help but smile.

He had just stuffed the spoon in his mouth when the doorbell rang. Jazz called out that she would get it, and promptly got up to do so. Danny began shoveling the cereal and pretty much threw the bowl in the sink. Sam and Tucker's voices could be heard coming from the living room, and Danny ran out of the kitchen and slid past the door, grabbing onto the frame to stop himself. Jazz elbowed him. She looked quickly into the kitchen and whispered just a little too loudly into his ear.

"I think Mom might suspect something..."

"WHAT!" Danny pretty much flipped out. His hand began glowing green and he jerked it off the doorframe. There was a scorched hand print.

"HUSH!" Jazz hissed. Tuck and Sam were slightly inside the door and they were in a sort of huddle. Sam had headphones around her neck where faint music could be heard, and when Danny flipped out, she wisely turned the volume up. The sudden music shocked Danny into proper thinking. He looked terrified. Sam turned her music down again.

"I'll talk to you later about it, ok guys?" Jazz said in a normal voice, turning from the door.

"S-see you l-later, M-mom..." Danny stuttered out, going through the door.

"Okay, Sweetie, have fun!" Maddie called out from the kitchen. She frowned at the scorch mark after the door was shut. She wondered if Danny was burnt. No, probably not. The blasts came from his hands all the time. Jazz walked over to the utility closet and grabbed something. She began scrubbing the doorframe. The mark came up after a minute or two. She put the hidden item back in the closet and ran up the stairs, calling back to Maddie.

"I'm going to go get something from my room! We're still going shopping later, right?"

Maddie sighed to herself. She really wanted to get in the lab, but she loved shopping with Jazz. Jazz hardly ever went shopping with her. She'd go ahead and go; it'd be better to go in the lab when no one was awake to meddle anyway. Maddie started up the steps after Jazz.

"Yes, but first I have to wake your father or else he'll sleep all day." Maddie walked into her room and tore the covers off the bed. Jack mumbled something about ranch dressing and fudge, but didn't wake. So, Maddie cheated and stole his teddy bear. Jack snapped awake.

"Hey!" Jack whined.

"It's time for you to get up. Danny's already left and Jazz and I are going to the mall. Come on honey! You get to spend all day in the lab, so please get up." She knew he loved to spend time in the lab and that he'd immediately get up. She was right. He threw himself out of bed and went to go get a jumpsuit. Maddie laughed. "Jazz and I are leaving in a minute, there're left-over waffles in the fridge for you to heat-up..." She trailed off suddenly. Letting Jack mess with left-overs wasn't the best idea. Her kitchen would be a mess because he couldn't work the toaster without mutating food. Oh well, she'd just have to remember to set out the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick.

"Oh boy! I get to play with left-overs!" Jack sounded like a small child. Maddie laughed once more.

"I'll leave the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick out for you, alright sweetie?" She turned to go down the stairs.

"Man that's hot!" he yelled out. She smiled again. He may be a little dense at times, but he really was a genius and the man she loved.

She pulled the Creep Stick out of the lab and placed it on the counter. She then called out to Jazz, who was still upstairs.

"Come on Jazz, sweetie! I'm going to start the Assault Vehicle!"

"Uhh, that's okay Mom," Jazz said, running down the stairs. "We can take my car!"

"Oh, alright..."

The shopping trip was uneventful. Maddie dragged Jazz through a few technology stores, and Jazz took Maddie to several bookstores, cafés, and respective clothing stores. Both had fun, and no ghost attacks occurred, although when they had lunch in a sports-bar-type place, the baseball game was interrupted by news of a ghost attack in Floody Waters. Jazz tried to keep Maddie's attention away from the television, but she snuck glances. Apparently, a blue ghost that threw ice and asked repeatedly "Will you be my friend?" had frozen a few rides, but Danny had saved the day (as Phantom of course, with, oddly enough, an unscathed outfit that had no marks of any kind on it from the night before) and then disappeared. Maddie was most certainly proud, both of him and herself for coming to grips with his _condition_. Jazz was also beaming after the news report, but Maddie said nothing.

When they got home at 5 o'clock, Danny still hadn't returned and Jack was still down in the lab, although now there was green goop all over Maddie's beautiful counters, as well as the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick. Maddie just sighed and began cleaning up. Jazz looked sympathetic, but ran up the stairs to work on her thesis paper, even though she wasn't even in college yet. She could be if she wanted to, but Jazz thought it would be better for Danny if she stayed. Jazz was such a good sister, Maddie thought to herself. Jack could be heard shouting in the lab, occasionally there was something good like a "Eureka!", but it more often than not it was something like "Owowowow!" or "Darnit!".

Maddie had just finished cleaning the counter and the third explosion had come from the lab when the front door opened. It was probably around 6 or 7. Danny came through the door looking exhausted, with a bruise on his temple. Tucker and Sam came inside too. They all looked tired and wet, but they all had goofy grins on their faces. Even Sam had stopped her disaffected scowling for a while. It was times like these that she would never have even in her wildest dreams suspected that Danny wasn't entirely normal.

"Do Sam and Tucker want to stay for dinner?" Maddie asked. She enjoyed seeing them. They were, in a way, like her own children. Danny had known them both for a long time and she had watched Danny and the two of them grow up and grow together. Also, she enjoyed seeing Danny so happy. He wasn't happy as much these days, but now at least she understood why.

All three agreed, and Sam whipped out a cell phone faster than the speed of light. Tucker followed suit. Maddie shook her head. _No one uses the regular phone anymore..._

Maddie began to make dinner, and crossed her fingers that it wouldn't mutate. She may be a better cook than Jack, but Jazz was the best cook (because she refused to use any of the ghost cooking ware). Luckily the veggie stew did not mutate, but the chicken pot pie was a little on the green side. Maddie knew Jack would eat it anyways, and he might eat the entire dish (he was a large man, after all). She decided to make some more vegetable stew and she made some grilled cheese sandwiches.

Jack came out of the lab and declared he was starving because half of the waffles mutated on him, and he couldn't find _anything_ for lunch (even though the fridge is full of food, Maddie thought to herself with a wry grin). Jack was delighted he got the entire dish of pot pie, and everyone else was happy for the normal food. (Sam, of course, did not eat any grilled cheese...)

All through dinner the three best friends exchanged glances, and, occasionally, Jazz got a glance or two. It was almost like they had their own code! They probably do...

After dinner, Sam and Tucker said goodbye and Danny sat down on the couch to watch some T.V. That's when Maddie got a good look at his leg. She was shocked again. Any trace of a wound was gone! She looked back up at his face. The bruise from his temple was gone too! She hadn't even had time to ask how he received it! He noticed her visual scrutiny and shifted uncomfortably, meeting her gaze.

"Whatcha looking at Mom?" he asked as he shifted positions on the sofa.

"Oh, nothing, I was just looking at how much you've grown sweetie. You've gotten so much taller!" He had grown a lot, especially compared to the four year old Danny who still romped in her mind and spent tons of time with her. It was like he had grown up overnight.

He snorted. "Not really. I still get picked on at school, I still get called scrawny, wimpy, and whelp..." he trailed off, like he'd said too much. Maddie sighed sadly before joining him on the couch to watch whatever mindless show he was watching. Before too long he wouldn't be around anymore...

Maddie once more found herself alone in the kitchen. Jack had gone to bed, followed closely by Jazz (who had come back downstairs to watch some television, although she claimed not to have), and finally Danny, who had meandered around before finally going upstairs. Maddie was excited and nervous. She had been waiting for this moment all day! She walked carefully to the utility closet and reached up to the top shelf to find... NOTHING! The towel wasn't there!


	7. Floundering

Chapter Seven: Floundering

Maddie's hand floundered on the top shelf. She refused to comprehend the fact that it wasn't there, it just didn't seem possible. She stood on her tiptoes and peeked up at the shelf. On it there lay a nice, neat, folded note. She stared at it in shocked horror. Who found it? Oh, this is horrible! Did that person know what they were doing? Oh, she felt sick to her stomach. She sat down on the spot and cradled her head in her hands. This is beyond bad. She lifted the note and clutched it in her hand.

The note was like one school girls often passed to one another. It wasn't a paper football, rather a crisp, clean, square that was comprised of four inter-locking triangles, so that only two showed. So it was probably a girl. Jazz? It had to be Jazz!

Unbeknownst to Maddie, Danny had gone ghost and slipped through the ceiling for a moment, inspecting her actions, before jerking back up and sitting on his bed. He had a walkie-talkie in his left hand and he pushed the button, ready to use one of his favorite phrases.

"This is Clueless One to Goth One, over!" He still didn't understand why _he_ was 'Clueless One'...

"Clueless One this is Goth One, you got it?" a female voice crackled over the line.

"'The Eagle has landed!' Tell Techno-Geek One 'The Eagle has landed!' over." He loved that quote! He did want to be an astronaut, so it was fitting.

"Roger that!" the female voice was back.

"Clueless One over and out!" he whispered into the walkie-talkie.

"Over and out!" the female voice whispered with static one last time.

Danny set down the walkie-talkie and once more phased through the floor to see if his mom would read the note. He too felt nauseous. It was apparent now that she knew _something_ was up. All that was left to do was wait. He sighed heavily.

Maddie was sitting on the floor, thinking out all of her fear, when she could have sworn she heard static, like from a walkie-talkie. Then, there was a sigh...

She slowly turned her head, inching slowly, slowly... She wasn't worried about burglars or ghosts because all the doors were locked and they had alarms for both. She was looking towards the mirror that hung on the wall, so she could see behind her.

She managed a look in the mirror and for a fleeting second and caught what appeared to be Danny (as Phantom) floating right below the ceiling staring back at the mirror and the reflection of her and himself with wide eyes. Then he must have jerked back up or gone invisible because he was gone faster than she could comprehend. She was a little freaked out at first, but then she calmed herself down. It was still weird...

She looked down at the note in her hand and decided to read it. This might be a set-up...

She pulled apart the triangles and unfolded it the rest of the way, pressing the clean, neat sheet of paper to the floor and smoothing out the folds. The writing was neat print, in black pen. The letters were all uppercase, but the letters that should have been lowercase were smaller.

"Come to the park at Midnight tomorrow night. Don't bring anyone with you, and come unarmed. We need to 'exchange' information."

Maddie snorted at the wording the note. This was definitely a set-up. How dumb did they think she was? But who was the "they" exactly? She still wasn't sure. She suspected Jazz, but then there was the stunt Danny just pulled. Plus, Sam and Tucker were here, and there's always Jack... No, Jack couldn't pull that off. She loved him, but he was just a bit too... too... well, too Jack. "That makes no sense!" She reprimanded herself. "But it does if you know him..." "I should stop arguing with myself..."

Maddie just went to bed. Her head ached, her stomach hurt, and she, for one of the few times in her life, felt just a little scared. Of what, she didn't really know, and that scared her too...

Maddie woke up feeling better, but that couldn't be said for her mental state. She shared the silence gratefully with Jazz that morning, and Jazz respected the silence. Maddie ate toast along with Jazz, even though her stomach hurt. She tried to think of a way to waste the day.

Danny came down the stairs at 11:15 (A.M.). He looked a little skittish, but at least settled down with the right ingredients for cereal. Jazz then went upstairs to work on her thesis, leaving Maddie and Danny alone in the kitchen. Maddie was washing dishes and cleaning things, but was actually focused on observing Danny. He caught her staring once or twice.

"Umm, yeah... Sam, Tuck, and I were planning a Movie Madness Marathon of horror movies at Sam's and it'll probably last past midnight, and I was wondering if I could stay the night over there. Tucker already got the okay from his parents, I just forgot to ask..." he trailed off a bit sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. He still looked skittish under her direct gaze, but he didn't squirm _too_ much.

"Sure thing Sweetie. Remember to bring an overnight bag. Are you gonna go over there right after breakfast?"

"I was planning on it..."

"Okay then..." They might be planning something... Oh well. "Have fun honey!"


	8. Confrontations

Chapter 8: Confrontations

The day dragged on for Maddie, since Jazz was working on her paper and Jack didn't come down until nearly noon. Then, after Jack had breakfast, he went to the lab. Maddie was so preoccupied and disappointed that she didn't really want to work in the lab, but she knew Jack might blow something up, so she had to supervise.

Amazingly, there weren't any explosions; however, the day still took forever. Jazz came down for lunch at half past one, and Maddie made her a sandwich, plus one for herself, and one as a snack for Jack. That was the only thing that helped her anchor time until Jazz called her from the lab at quarter past six to make dinner.

Jazz thought it would be good bonding if they made a meal together. Maddie didn't argue. It was something to do and since she was only just in the kitchen she'd be there in case Jack needed help. Jazz thumbed through a cook book and picked out a recipe. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't too complex looking. It was some kind of roast that required "babying". After Jazz checked that they had all the proper ingredients, she and Maddie began cooking. Maddie went through the motions mechanically, letting her mind wander. Jazz, however had other plans, and began talking to her. According to Jazz, an essential part of the bonding was talking, so Maddie complied.

Jazz was pretty much psycho-analyzing her, but Maddie didn't really mind. Jazz was obviously concerned. Maddie told the truth about what was on her mind, although only part of it. She told Jazz she was worried about Danny and concerned about what he did with his time. Jazz started probing for more, and it became a battle of wills, daughter against mother, until Jazz gave up. She knew she couldn't push Maddie too hard or else she would suspect something, if she didn't already, so she just gave up. Maddie was glad because she didn't know how long she could hold out without slipping up. Sadly, however, they had been neglecting the roast, and it burnt in the oven...

Jazz and Maddie agreed on take-out over gales of laughter. Besides, as Jazz pointed out, the bonding wasn't dependent on the roast, and they called in for Chinese food.

Jack didn't even know they had been making something and was happy with the take-out. Maddie and Jazz ate straight from the cartons and afterward watched a movie. This helped Maddie out a lot with time. Before she knew it, it was eleven.

Jazz declared that she was ready for bed, and told Maddie goodnight. Jack followed quickly, leaving Maddie with a small mess and an hour. She easily cleaned up the Chinese food cartons and the lab. She then locked all the doors, except for the front one, and steeled herself mentally. She may be going against kids, but they were smart and she'd be damned before she let any of them get hurt in this game.

Once she felt adequately prepared, she snuck a glance at the clock-11:37. She had roughly ten minutes before she needed to leave. She could already hear Jack's booming snores. Maddie checked on Jazz, who was also sleeping soundly, and set out for the park. She couldn't come entirely unarmed, since several weapons were built into her suit, but she didn't bring any extras.

Maddie got to the park several minutes early and sat on bench near the entrance. They forgot to tell her where exactly she should be in the note. Oh well, this would have to do...

The bench was underneath of a large tree, and she realized, pretty hard to see if you didn't know where it was in the dark. There was a full moon, but it did little besides giving faint outlines and basic shapes. Just then, she saw Danny in ghost mode flying Sam and Tucker into the park. They landed at the entrance and Danny looked around, before slapping his forehead. They couldn't see her!

"Guys, guess what we forgot to put in the note..." he said.

"What?" Sam and Tucker both said uneasily.

"Where she should meet us..." he nearly groaned.

"What do you mean 'we'? You two geniuses made up the note..." Sam said.

"Yeah while you were writing in your diary how much you like Dan-ouf! Ouch! Hey, that hurt!" Tucker whined. Sam had kicked him in the shin with her heavy combat boots. Maddie winced in sympathy for the poor boy's shin; it did look like it hurt.

"Hush up!" Sam whispered fiercely to him. Tucker was still whimpering and holding his shin.

"How much you like who?" Danny asked, looking upset.

"Uhh, being a recyclo-vegetarian, that's what I was writing about Danny!" she said over-enthusiastically, with some nervous and forced laughter at the end of her equally over-enthusiastic and forced statement.

"Oh, okay." Danny said, looking much more relieved.

"Clueless..." Tucker muttered. "OW! What was that for?" he whined at Sam after she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Shut! Up!" She whispered again. Danny was too busy looking around notice anything. He really was a bit removed... Maddie knew Sam liked Danny, even a blind person could see that, but Danny was blind and deaf to it, so he still didn't know.

Maddie decided to give up her position, but stealthily, to make them think she hadn't been there the entire time. She would've felt bad, crushing all of their dignity like that. She kept to the shadows and hunkered down, coming around a tree from the opposite direction and onto a path, appearing to have walked around the park and to have come from the other side.

Sam and Tuck saw her coming and retreated to the shadows, so that if she hadn't been there the entire time, she probably wouldn't have noticed that someone was there at all. Danny remained floating several feet above the ground and looked down on her.

"Uh, ahem" he cleared his throat and then continued, using a more "hero-ly" voice. "Hello fine citizen, what brings you to the park at this hour? Is there something you ah, need to know?" At this last part, his voice squeaked a little and dropped to normal. The eerie echo had even gotten quieter. He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.

How could she have been so blind? He was clearly her Danny, in every aspect. She had to keep herself from rolling her eyes at his attempt to sound more confident and "hero-ly". Time to get to the point...

"Danny, I know that's you." She had meant for it to sound strong and firm, but she had involuntarily faltered. Oh well...

"Uh, what do you mean? Of course it is I, Danny Phantom!" She could tell he was trying to keep calm, but he had lost all of his cool now and was completely squeaky. It seemed impossible for his voice to get any higher.

"Daniel Fenton, you land right now and talk to me eye to eye!"

"Yes ma'am" His voice did the impossible and went up at least two notches in pitch. It came out as hardly a squeak.

"Samantha, Tucker, you might as well come out too." She hated doing this to them, but it was the best way. She was fed up with all of the playing dumb.

"Yes, Mrs. Fenton." came Tucker's obedient reply. Sam was just flabbergasted as she stepped out into the light that the glowing Danny produced. She didn't seem to even notice that Maddie had called her Samantha. That would have usually received at least a scowl.

"But how did-? And you-! But we-?" Sam stuttered and Danny looked like he was going to pass out. Tucker looked a little dull eyed, but no worse for wear. Just then the sound of a jet-sled was heard and the red-clad girl whirred past, after the hunter-ghost, what had Danny called him, Skulker? A bluish mist came out of Danny's mouth, almost like it was cold enough to see your breath. He looked up, saw the girl (who hadn't seen their little gathering yet) and passed out. He fell over backwards and the blue rings came, turning him back into normal Danny Fenton.

Maddie felt really bad for him. She had just shocked him so much he was on the brink of fainting, and seeing the red-clad girl must have scared him over the edge. Tucker just kind of stood there and Sam was shocked too. Maddie calmly walked over to him and knelt down beside him. She began to rub one of his hands between her own to wake him.

Sam must have been shocked back into motion, because she soon joined Maddie.

"He's okay, right?" she asked.

"Yes, he's fine. He just fainted. I'm sorry for scaring you all like that, but it was the best way I knew how to get the message across." Maddie really felt bad about it.

"Dude, he fainted?" Tucker started laughing.

"Shut up Tuck!" Sam reprimanded him. Just then Danny started to come to. Maddie and Sam let go of his hands and waited.

"Wha? Is the movie marathon over yet? I had the freakiest dream... When we went to go meet Mom at the park, she knew everything-" At this point he opened his eyes and visibly paled, even in the dim lighting. "Hi Mom..." he managed to squeak out.

"Hey sweetie, you fainted after I told you to land. It didn't help that a ghost flew by with the girl hunter on its tail..." she tried to smooth out his hair and soothe him from his panicked state. He swiped away her hand and ran his own through his hair. It stuck up like usual and she sighed. He wouldn't get a haircut no matter how much she pleaded. "It's kinda' fun to ruffle," Jazz had told her with mischievous glee once "and it gets on his nerves too!"

"Okay, so I guess you know. And you're sure you don't wanna, like, shoot me or anything?"

"Absolutely not sweetie! Now why would I want to do something like that?" What did he think she was? A monster? Who would shoot their own son? Maybe Jack did want to rip the ghost boy apart molecule by molecule, but no matter what Danny was, they'd never want to hurt him!

"Okay, good." He sounded very relieved. "At the beginning of the summer I knew for sure, but now..." he mumbled to himself.

"How'd you know for sure?" She asked, intrigued. If he thought she was going to hurt him now, how could he have been sure then?

"It's a long story..." Sam answered for him as he rubbed the back of his neck again.

"Well, it'll just have to wait till tomorrow! We don't want to get spotted down here at such an odd hour, so we should probably go somewhere and get some sleep. I do have one question though, what did you do to the towel?"

Danny paled again. "Nothing. We left it there with the note..."

"Oh no..." Tucker said. Sam just stood there, Danny looked like he was going to faint again, and Maddie felt like she was going to faint herself.


	9. Recon

Chapter Nine: Recon!

Maddie breathed in deeply, and then exhaled sharply. Danny collapsed backwards into a sitting position, Sam dropped to her knees, and Tucker leaned against a nearby tree. The trio had been keeping the secret so long it was devastating for anything to leak out.

"Okay, calm down... It had to be someone inside the Fenton house, right?" Sam said, coming to her senses first. "Maybe Jazz hid it until we straightened things out with ...? I mean, we did let her in on the plan..."

"No," Danny said weakly. "I told her it was there and not to mess with it. She promised she wouldn't. She may an annoying pain in the neck, and overbearing, and conceited, and-"

"Danny, get to the point!" Sam interrupted. Maddie just smiled to herself. Yep, Danny and Jazz were definitely siblings...

"She wouldn't do something like that if I asked her not to..." Danny finally finished.

"So that leaves Mr. F..." Tucker said quietly. Usually you couldn't get the boy to stop talking, but tonight... Well, he was running in a quiet streak.

An audible swallow was heard from Danny, and then there was silence. It stayed that way for a few minutes, just awkward silence, until someone fidgeted too loudly, and the group snapped out of their daze.

"We better go somewhere, kids. We can't stay out here all night." Maddie said. She meant it. It was bad enough for the children to even be up past midnight, but out in a park? This was worse than the time she had let Danny and his friends stay overnight at the zoo. No, wait... Not much could top that as fail as parenting skill fails go...

"Where should we go?" Tucker asked. "We're still supposed to be at Sam's, but that might be weird for you to come...?"

"You three go back to Sam's, and I'll go back home. Tomorrow, however, we need to sort things out." Maddie stated.

"Okay Mom... Umm, uh, I'M GOIN GHOST!" He was a little uncomfortable transforming in front of Maddie, she could tell. It still startled her a little to see him turn into Public Enemy Number One...

He kept his feet on the ground instead of hovering, which was odd. He was probably just severely uncomfortable acting as his alter-ego in front of his mother.

"Okay, bye sweetie! You kids have a good time and I'll see you tomorrow!" Maddie said, trying to make things as normal as possible (which, in retrospect, was nearly impossible to do, with Danny standing transformed, and all of them in the park at midnight). She began walking towards the house. Sam and Tucker each took one of Danny's hands, and he kicked off and flew them in the opposite direction.

Once Maddie arrived home, she went straight to bed.

Morning arrived much too early for her liking. She was jarred awake, and she sat up groggily in bed.

"Mom." came a disembodied whisper that sounded a lot like Danny's. She looked around. Jack slept peacefully at her side, clutching his teddy bear tightly. No one else was in the room. "Mom!" She felt an ice-cold hand on her shoulder. Danny.

"There's no need to be invisible or even whisper dear. Your father is out cold and won't even have any chance of waking up until..." she checked the clock. 10:37. Wow. No wonder Danny was in her room and sounding concerned. "at least two hours from now."

Danny materialized in beside her, already dressed and everything. She shivered under his hand. He withdrew it quickly and apologized.

"Sorry, that happens. I don't know why, but you probably do." He said quickly. "Sam and Tuck are downstairs. I don't want to leave them alone too long with Jazz, or she'll start messing with their heads. I think she might need a therapist for her obsession with being a therapist! I'm gonna go back downstairs now..." His gasped suddenly and his breath became visible, just like the night before in the park. He started to shiver.

"Great... I wonder who that could be." Suddenly a head popped up from the floor.

"Beware, for I am the Box Ghost! I shall send you hermetically sealed to your DOOM! For your cylindrical containment device" here, he gestured with his hands in the shape of the thermos, "shall never hold me! BEWARE!"

"Oh, please... didn't I just put you back yesterday?" Danny said in boredom.

"Maybe..." here there was a pause, where the Box Ghost (for once) did not know what to say, and then "I AM THE BOX GHOST!"

"Well, anyway Mom-" Danny went on as if a ghost wasn't even in the room, until he was interrupted.

"BEWARE! FOR I AM THE BOX GHOST!"

"ANyway-" Danny tried to continue, forcing the first part of his word.

"BEWARE! I AM THE BOX GHOST!"

"WOULD YOU STOP DOING THAT?" Danny finally asked/shouted in frustration.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST! I SHALL USE CUBICAL SQUARES OF DOOM TO DEFEAT YOU, MIGHTY HALFA!"

Danny held up one finger at the head poking through the floor. "You have five seconds, 5... 4... 3... 2..." The Box Ghost retreated through the floor with one last final "BEWARE!" There was a green glow around the one finger and Maddie studied it with interest.

"I'll get him later, if he hasn't already retreated." Danny said, turning back to Maddie. He noticed her scrutiny of his now normal finger and scrunched it in her face. "Mom, hello?" He said, slightly annoyed. "I was trying to tell you something besides that I was going downstairs... Now I know how Sam feels when Paulina walks by..." He said the last part to himself.

She shook her head quickly and looked back up at him. "Sorry. You're just so interesting from a scientist's point of view, sweetie."

"Oh, great. Experiments." He said with sarcasm.

"No, of course not honey! You go on downstairs. I'll get dressed and join you." She said. He went on down the stairs and she quickly got dressed, smiling when, in his sleep, Jack began muttering about ghosts.

When she came down the stairs, four heads swiveled up to look at her. Jazz and Danny appeared to have been in a conversation, Tucker and Sam an argument. Jazz was the first to speak.

"Morning Mom! I missed our usual quiet time. Instead I got this pack of elephants." She said, ruffling Danny's hair playfully. He began kind of slapping at her hand, and ran his own hand back through his hair while scowling at her. Maddie had to suppress a chuckle.

"Well, anyway, down to business. You know. We know you know. And now you know we know you know." Jazz said matter-of-factly. Danny just sat there cutely and quite amusingly scratching his head and trying to "do the math" with his fingers, not really following what Jazz had said. Maddie understood however.

"I still don't know all of the aspects, but anyway, that's not important right now. You can tell me some other time. We need to find where Jack put the towel. I'm not sure how he found it, unless he thought I hid the fudge in the utility closet... We have about an hour and a half before we're in the danger zone."

"I love that song! Oh, and that movie, Top Gun!" Tucker piped up.

"Okay, thank you Tucker. Completely unnecessary and entirely random, but whatever." Sam said in her own special way.

"You're welcome, it's what I do." Tucker stated smugly. That boy really did think he was hot stuff. Maddie once more had to suppress her amusement with the four children she held most dear.

"Well, anyway, even if Dad is a little out of it and a somewhat childish sometimes, he's still a scientist." Jazz said matter-of-factly.

"Duh..." Danny muttered. Jazz glared at him before continuing.

"He probably recognized the towel for what it was, and took it down to the lab."

"Jazz, the two of us have already established this..." Danny said. She gave him a hard look.

"We may have, but Sam and Tuck were too busy arguing and Mom wasn't even down here!" Jazz said in frustration. Danny just stuck his tongue out at her. How could he be such a hero, and yet such a child all at the same time? "Anyway, as I was saying, he probably has it hidden in the lab in a safe or something, since it's a big find. It's also probably guarded with a ghost alarm, so Danny can't just nab it and go."

"So we'll have to run a recovery mission..." Sam finished.

"Sweet! It'll be just like a video game!" Tucker said in excitement.


	10. Killer Silence

Chapter 10: Killer Silence

The silence is deafening. People think I'm dumb and incompetent, but I just get carried-away sometimes. I'm not oblivious. There are secrets in my house, secrets that make the silence cacophonous, roaring washes of guilt. I'll just have to wait, then maybe one day I'll know. Until then, I'll go on in carried-away ignorance, pretending I don't notice, blabbering on about ghosts and fudge as usual. I can ignore the heaviness in air. It'll be alright...

Now where did Maddie hide that fudge... Hmm...

"Suuure," Sam said, in a sarcastic tone. "Except that this is about 100 times more important!"

"Okay, okay... Geez!" Tucker said, putting his hands up, palms facing Sam in a defensive yet placating gesture.

"This isn't really much of a plan at all..." Danny said. "We have nothing but speculations and a dimly scratched out idea. There's no way this is gonna work..."

"We have to try!" Sam said.

"Well, why don't I go down and take a look in the lab then, and see what's new? That'd make things a lot simpler. You know you have me on your team now, so you don't have to make up crazy plans and strange excuses to check out the lab when we aren't looking." Maddie said.

"Duh!" Danny said, thunking repeatedly his head against the kitchen table. "I can't believe we forgot that!"

"I can believe you forgot it, but me? I'm never wrong! I'm never supposed to be wrong! This is almost as bad as the time when Dad shouldn't have gone after Mom but he did even though all evidence said he wouldn't!" Jazz began freaking out.

"Jazz it's ok... It's gonna be oooookay." Danny began trying in vain to soothe Jazz. Then he laughed. "I still have at least another thousand years to serve in prison."

"What?" Maddie said sharply. "You, in prison?"

"Oh, it's nothing, just the ghost warden named Walker. I got sentenced to prison for pretty much just existing, then I broke out, then he framed me when he took over the mayor, ect. ect. You know, usual bad guy crazy stuff."

"What does that have to do with when I went to the Divorce Party?" Maddie was clearly puzzled.

"Uhh, it's a really _really_ long story. It's probably best if we wait till later."

"Right..." Maddie was still confused, but she didn't dote on it. "I'm gonna go check out the lab then, see if there's anything new, and run a couple of scans to see if I can find where he hid it."

"Okay." four voices chorused.

Maddie walked down the stairs into the lab, looking around with a sharp eye. Nothing had been touched since the day before. Even the dust was in the same place, or at least, that's what it felt like. Then again, that's what it always feels like when you're the only one who cleans. She took a moment to sigh in self-pity before moving on. She decided to do a scan, rifling through some forgotten inventions. She knocked over the Fenton Finder and the Booomerang and they activated themselves.

"You must be a moron to not notice the ghost in the kitchen. There is a ghost in the kitchen. You must be some kind of moron to not notice the ghost in the kitchen." It said in its automated voice.

"Can I break it? Please?" Danny poked his head into the lab, his hand already glowing green. "Please please please please please? I hate that thing, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!"

"Now wait a minute... If I tinker with it, I can use it as a scanner for your DNA, instead of scanning for ectoplasm and searching through everything that gets picked up in this lab, which could take days."

"You could just use the Booomereang for that, it's probably still locked on my signature thing or whatever. Although make sure it doesn't leave the lab, that thing hurts." he said as he rubbed the back of his head in memory of the pain.

"Your father might notice that the Fenton Finder is gone though." She countered.

"Oh, yeah... I guess you're right. Darn." he said as the glow around his hand faded. "Oh well. I'm going back into the kitchen before you throw that thing, and hopefully if I shut the door, it won't follow, but you never know, that thing found me ten years into the future..."

"What on earth? What are you talking about?" She half-asked, half-demanded. How had her son been in the future or the past?

"Another long story..." he said quietly, as a faraway look entered his eyes. She could see his pain and... burning shame? How much had her son been through that she didn't know about? "Anyway, go ahead and throw that stupidly-named tracking-device!" he said, about a thousand times more cheerful than he had sounded a few seconds before.

"Hey, that's my line!" Sam shouted down from the kitchen. He stuck his tongue out in that general direction as he ran back up the stairs.

Maddie threw it, but instead of going somewhere in the lab, or even banging itself to death against the door to the kitchen, it began banging itself against the west wall. This perplexed her, and she went over and grabbed it.

Maddie turned it off and went up to the kitchen to report her finding. All five of them tried to figure it out, but it just didn't make sense. She was pretty sure it was still electronically sound, and when she threw it in the kitchen, it immediately hit Danny in the back of the head. They kept at it until Danny's ghost sense went off, at which point Danny went ghost and flew up through the ceiling, leaving the four of them to continue to puzzle it out. Suddenly, Jazz went very pale.

"Wisconsin." she uttered. Sam and Tucker paled too.

"What?" Maddie asked.

"It'll be better if Danny tells you..." Jazz said quietly. The three somber teens and a completely perplexed Maddie sat in silence until Danny flew back through the ceiling and landed on the floor. Jazz didn't wait for him to turn back, but just blurted the state out. He got extremely pale, almost white. He began turning back to his human appearance when Maddie noticed something. Someone was in the doorway.

She didn't have any time; Danny was already fully human before she could open her mouth. Danny saw Jazz, Sam, Tucker, and Maddie all staring at the doorway, and turned to look. If he had been pale before, it was nothing compared to now.

"Hi Dad."


	11. Oh Hell

Chapter 11: Oh Hell

Jack just stood there, mouth opening and closing, like a fish out of water. That was the only movement in the entire room. Danny was having one of those moments where, for a second, you almost believe if you shut your eyes, no one can see you. He figured maybe any minute he'd be snapping awake somewhere, like his bed, or even in Mr. Lancer's class. He'd gladly trade his summer to go back to ninth grade English class if it meant being somewhere else. Anywhere was better than where he was then. Even having to deal with Freakshow and everything all over again was a thousand times better to him at that moment.

Danny finally just freaked out after a minute or two, and disappeared from sight, which was about the dumbest thing he could do. They might have had a chance of covering for him, but now, well now he was just screwed. Jack shook his head and mechanically walked back up the stairs. Danny reappeared behind everyone at the kitchen table, completely freaking out. Jack came booming back down the stairs (how had they missed that?), and Danny quickly turned invisible, turning Sam and Tucker invisible with him since he was touching them.

"Amazing... So real..." Jack's voice was extremely quiet and he walked over to the spot where Danny had been standing when he'd been spotted. He touched the floor and inspected the air around the area.

"Sweetie? Darling, are you alright?" Maddie asked tentatively.

"I think I am..." he scratched his head "I need a cookie... Or some fudge!" here his eyes lit up and he began opening and closing cabinet doors. Maddie stood up, too stunned by him not accusing them to really do anything more than act on motor memory. She opened a cabinet, took out a cookie jar that had a key pad on it, quickly put in the correct numbers, and handed a cookie to Jack.

He sat down at the table, where Tucker had been sitting, and there was a rush of air. Maddie suddenly felt the air around her drop a degree or two. Danny was still here. At least she had remembered to turn the Fenton Finder off. Jack began to lightly nibble around the edges of the cookie, sucking on it slightly while his brow wrinkled. Jazz had been silent this entire time and stayed stock still.

"Amazing... I wonder if it's even possible... Maybe... If on a genetic level..." He went on and on in mumbles like this for a minute before Maddie got up to courage to ask.

"What are you talking about dear?"

"I had the strangest dream. You all were here in the kitchen like this, but spooky-ooky girl-" here he was interrupted by Jazz

"Sam"

"Right, spooky-ooky girl and Tucker were here too. Then the ghost boy landed in the kitchen and turned into the Danny. I realized how similar they looked, at least in my mixed up dream, and wondered if they could be the same being..."

Jazz forced laughter. "Oh Dad, that's ridiculous!" There was a quick intake of breath that was disembodied, and Jack looked up suspiciously before continuing.

"I know, but I started to wonder if it were possible. That's when I decided I needed a cookie to think! And here we are now!" He shoved the entire cookie into his mouth and searched for nonexistent crumbs before standing up suddenly and shouting "TO THE LAB!"

He ran downstairs to the lab and slammed the door. Danny reappeared, bringing Sam and Tucker into sight with him.

"Spooky-ooky girl?" Sam asked, almost in disbelief.

"Yeah, he's started calling you that, but that's not important! He doesn't know... HE DOESN'T KNOW!" Danny was almost doing a victory dance.

"Spooky-Ooky girl? He doesn't even know my name?" Sam looked a little hurt, and Maddie hugged her to comfort her. "Physical contact... crushing... Goth... indifference..." Sam managed to choke out.

Maddie had realized shortly after Danny had become friends with Sam that she didn't especially like her parents, and, although her parents tried hard, they couldn't really quite come to terms with their original, intelligent, and highly independent daughter. Over the years, Sam had started to see Maddie as more of a mother (even though she was extremely "eccentric") and Maddie saw Sam as more of a daughter. She still occasionally forgot, however, that Sam highly valued her personal space when it came to anyone besides Danny or Tucker.

"Sorry sweetie!" Maddie said, quickly releasing Sam. Sam smiled at her, and Maddie didn't feel so bad. "And Danny, stop doing that before you hurt yourself." He slipped and fell on his back.

"Too late..." he said in a pained croak.

"You're hurt? From just that? I've seen you get thrown into a brick wall while still human and get back up." Jazz said. Danny stood up and the back of his shirt had ridden up from where he had been on the floor. His entire back was riddled with varying degrees of severe bruises.

"You get thrown through two-buildings in super-hero mode and then go through a third while human and see if you don't hurt in the morning." He went to rub his back, but then winced as he touched it. "Better just leave that alone..." He pulled his shirt back down and sat down at the table.

"What's all this about Wisconsin now?" Maddie asked, getting back on topic.

"Oh, that..." Danny's face paled. "Well, you know how I got my powers from the ghost portal?"

"Yes..."

"Well, there's another person like me... another halfa, as the other ghosts call us. We're kinda rivals..." Danny said as rubbed the back of his neck, choosing his words carefully.

"But the only other person who's even come in contact with a portal besides everyone in this house right now is... Vlad." Maddie said slowly. Danny gulped.

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner." Sam said quietly.

"All this time that... that... monster of a man has been terrorizing you?" Maddie's eyes stormed and she wrung her hands together as if Vlad's neck was between them. "Why does he want your DNA?"

"He uhh... wants... to uhhh... make a clone of me?" Danny ended really quietly.

"HE WHAT?" Maddie was on the verge of screaming.

"Well first he wanted to renounce Dad and join him as his son, and eventually bring you too, but I kept refusing, and then he dragged us there for the fake convention and shorted out my ghost powers, and then he just decided if he couldn't have me, he'd clone me and make a computer program of you." Danny said all of this extremely fast and very quietly.

"Well why don't we just drop in to say hello?" Maddie said through clenched teeth.

The drive to Wisconsin seemed like a millisecond, but that was due to both (A) his mother wasn't going the speed limit (actually he wasn't even sure if the FFGAV was even touching the ground...) and (B) this was the last thing he wanted to do with his summer.

Maddie barged into Vlad's huge home, but he was no one in the entire house.

"I guess he's not here Mom..." Danny said nervously. "So let's just leave!" He leaned on the mantle in the study without thinking and opened up the lab. "Crap" he muttered under his breath.

His mother ascended the stairs and Danny was hot on her heels. But when they got to the lab, it looked deserted. No Vlad, no signs of recent activity, no nothing. Huh.

Actually, thinking back on it, Maddie realized that the entire mansion had an air of desertion to it. Vlad was apparently out of town, and had been for some time.

As Maddie was pondering this over, Danny managed to set something off in the lab. Poor, clumsy child of hers. Unfortunately, whatever it was, it was not Danny friendly. She watched in horror as electricity arched from what looked suspiciously like a modified Spector Deflector and zapped around his body before he fell to the floor. After a panicked moment of confirming that he did, in fact, still have a pulse and was still breathing fine, Maddie concluded that he was merely passed out and loaded him into the FFGAV to take him home.


	12. Yatzee

Chapter 12: YATZEE!

Maddie and Tucker carried Danny into the living room and onto the couch while Sam and Jazz steered (he was already going to come-to with a jolt, he needn't have a bruise on his head from being slammed into the doorframe too, however fast it may fade).

"And now we wait." Sam said. She shifted Danny's feet towards the back of the sofa and sat down. Tucker, Maddie, and Jazz joined her.

Danny rolled over and groaned, opening his eyes to a somewhat odd sight. Jazz had found a pack of cards and Maddie, Sam, Jazz, and Tuck were playing cards.

"YATZEE!" Tucker shouted with enthusiasm as he threw down his last card.

"Tuck, we're playing crazy eights..." Sam said with annoyance.

"I know that, that's how I won, I just wanted to yell something." Tucker said, puffing his chest up in an attempt to keep his dignity. Maddie smiled and laughed to herself. Jazz had a smirk on her face and Danny began to chuckle. His four compatriots looked in his direction.

"Are you okay honey?" Maddie said, her voice colored with concern. "I don't know what you put your hand on, but it looked like one of my own inventions gone wrong. I'm so sorry sweetie!"

"I'm fine Mom." Danny said with a small smile to Maddie. "I don't know why I passed out, that wasn't a very big shock. I think it was probably something Vlad was working on just to make me pass out. Fruit Loop."

"I just don't understand how I could have overestimated his character so much. How did I never realize he was such a creep? I mean, after the incident where he had us trapped in his mansion, I knew something was wrong, but that? That's just sick!" Maddie was ranting now. It alarmed her that a man so close to the family could be so horrid.

Danny opened his mouth to say something, but just then his 'ghost sense', as he had called it, went off and he snapped to alert, along with Sam and Tucker. Jazz perked up a bit, but then suppressed a giggle at what must have been a memory and settled back down into the sofa.

Tucker reached into one of the large pockets on his baggy pants and pulled out a Fenton Thermos, Sam reached into her boot and pulled out one too ('How on earth?' was all Maddie could think as she watched the girl pull the cartoony feat, yanking something that big from an already full space), and Danny stood. Maddie looked at him, marveling at the change from worn-out teen to responsible hero. He quickly changed forms without a word, his face once more somber. She noticed he too had a Fenton Thermos, strapped to his back. He crouched low and took off, rocketing through the wall, turning intangible at the last moment.

Sam reached into her pocket and pulled out, to Maddie's astonishment, three pairs of Fenton Phones about a half a second too late to catch Danny. She and Tucker exchanged looks, and she handed him a pair. Then they both headed for the door, Sam beating Tuck by a long-shot.

Before he went out the door, Tucker turned around and looked Maddie square in the eye, something he wouldn't usually do." We got this, don't worry Mrs. Fenton." And then he was out the door too. Jazz reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of Fenton Phones and put them in.

"Who is it guys?" She asked. Maddie could clearly hear all three responses at the same time, Danny starting first.

"False alarm" he said, slightly static-y.

"Four Ectopuses" was where all three voices overlapped.

"So not a threat?" Jazz asked, hope filling her voice. Since when was any ghost not a threat?

"Uh-oh" Sam said. Danny sighed.

"Pleeeeease Danny?" Jazz pleaded with her younger brother.

"Nu-uh, not after last time." Maddie could hear some explosions.

"But I've been working on my aim, and I promise I won't mess up! Please?"

Danny sighed. "Fine, but if I end up in the thermos again..." Danny left the threat open-ended.

"YESSSSS!" Jazz punched the air, and then reached under the sofa, grabbing yet_ another _Fenton Thermos.

'Did Jack and I even make that many?' Maddie couldn't help but wonder.

"They're tied up," Danny said to Jazz "but once you get out here I'll set 'em lose if you think you can handle it. Oh, and I call one for misplaced aggression."

"I thought we agreed you'd talk that out from now on?" Jazz posed the statement/question.

"Uhhh, no... I really don't like it when you get inside my head."

Jazz had hopped up by now and was at the door, Maddie right behind.


	13. Catastrophic Consequences

Chapter 13: Catastrophic Consequences?

Out in the street nearby, four low-level ectoplasmic entities were restrained with ectoplasmic rope, probably generated by Danny, Maddie realized. The entities were shaped vaguely like octopods, but green with red eyes and a mouth.

As Jazz and Maddie rounded the corner into the alley, Tucker, Danny, and Sam came into view, just kind of standing/hovering around and waiting. Danny tapped his foot impatiently, which seemed a tad silly to Maddie, since he was currently about a foot off the ground.

Jazz whipped the cap off her thermos and held it up as she excitedly began to talk to the other three teens, but before she could say anything intelligible, Danny cringed and ducked.

"Don't wave that thing around anywhere near me! Geez!" Danny shouted. Jazz blushed sheepishly and Maddie realized how close her daughter's fingers were to the button that activated the thermos.

"Sorry little brother!" Jazz said apologetically.

"Wait, you don't mean to tell me that you've _actually_ sucked your brother in there before? You weren't just joking before?" Maddie spoke up for the first time, hands on hips.

Jazz blushed and became sheepish once more. "I-it, was an accident! I swear!"

Danny crossed his arms. "Suuuure. I just NEVER want to be stuck in there again." He transformed back to his human-side just to be safe.

Maddie was a bit astounded. How much her children had done and the danger they put themselves in voluntarily was just starting to sink in, and she wasn't really sure if she could let them do so and still call herself a good mother. The danger, the fights, the psychological damage, not to mention the ghosts themselves and the kinds of hell they could put the children through. It was all a bit much for any good (slightly over-protective) mother to bear. She didn't really know what to say to the kids however, and as she was new to this, she knew they would just react defensively. So, without knowing what else to do, and not sensing an immediate threat (it still amazed her that she could consider a _ghost_ non-threatening, but Danny seemed to know exactly what he was doing, as did the rest of the gang), she sat back and watched in amusement as Jazz struggled to capture the now unrestrained ghosts for a good half hour. The other three teens often joined in her mirth, as Jazz ran and caromed about desperately.

After managing to contain three of the four ghosts, "Ectopuses" as the kids called them, and thoroughly exhausting herself, Danny took pity on his poor sister and snagged the last one in his thermos.

Tucker doubled over in laughter "Did you see the way she tried to jump about?"

Jazz blushed and scowled at Tucker.

"You only have to dodge and banter wittily when your enemy is sentient and actually trying to _attack_." Danny teased.

Maddie was forced to admit that Jazz's so-called "witty-banter" was a tad lacking. But, as Jazz was thoroughly embarrassed _and_ exhausted, Maddie took pity on her and rounded the children up to head back inside.

"So, we never actually figured out where the towel is, did we?" Sam piped up.

"No, we didn't." Danny scowled. Maddie thought for a moment, but was coming up short.

"Maybe we could try throwing the Booomerang outside?" Tucker suggested.

Jazz, still panting slightly for breath, tilted her head in thought. "That could work, assuming it _is_ around here somewhere. Hopefully it's not in the Ghost Zone."

"Fat chance of us ever finding it in there." Sam said with a frustrated scowl.

"Well, throwing it outside is worth a shot." Danny said. "But I'm definitely staying inside. I've been hit with that thing enough times in my life, thanks."

So, the gang went and retrieved the "stupidly-named tracking device" (Maddie still thought it was a perfectly fine name, Jack had come up with it all by himself and it was quite witty).

After leaving Danny safely inside on the sofa (he was quite content to watch some T.V.), the four headed out to the west side of Fenton Works.

Maddie took a deep breath and prepared to throw the Booomerang, wondering what would happen. As soon as she released it, it hurtled straight for the brick side of their home and beat itself against the where the ground and the wall met. Maddie snagged it and deactivated it before it could damage itself or the wall.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked.

"I dunno." Tucker shrugged.

Maddie was pondering over what it all meant. "The lab is on the other side of that wall, beneath ground level. But it doesn't make any since, I've already searched the lab. There's nothing there. Surely it isn't inside the wall?"

Jazz shrugged. "It could be. I mean, we're dealing with a half-ghost boy's DNA covered towel here. More than one of his opponents would do just about anything to get their hands on that. We're lucky it isn't in the Ghost Zone actually."

Maddie was baffled. "Why would any of Danny's enemies want his blood?"

"You'd be surprised at the stuff those crackpots think they can use his DNA for." Sam said.

"Anything from cloning him, which you've already heard about, to tracking him, to making weapons from him, to locking themselves inside a new meat suit." Tucker elaborated.

"So it's a good thing that we know it's still nearby." Jazz said.

"Huh." was all Maddie had to say to that. She didn't really know how one should respond to being told that a group of entities thought her child's blood could and should be used for a plethora of sickening activities. She didn't really know how she was going to handle this whole "my son is a superhero who risks his life daily while also trying to act like a completely normal, healthy high school-er" in the long run. But she'd worry about that later. For now, her goal was mending the mess she'd technically created before her son's life-blood fell into the wrong hands and there were catastrophic consequences.


	14. Tidied Ends

Chapter 14: Tidied Ends

The group trudged back into the house, Maddie leading the way. Danny looked up from the television as they settled around him onto the various pieces of furniture.

Sam curled her legs underneath of her, managing to look quite small and fragile for such a strong and sometimes angry individual. Jazz had perched herself oddly on one of the chairs while both boys slouched on the couch.

"So what's the news?" Danny asked with a raised brow.

"We think it's in the wall, dude." Tucker said.

"Wait, inside the wall?" Danny's skeptical eyebrow hitched higher. "How on earth did it get in there? And why aren't we in the lab getting it out?"

"Well, sweetie, I can't exactly say I'm comfortable with the idea of tearing holes in the walls, especially with your father down there." Maddie said wryly.

Without a word, Danny's arm lost its corporealness and he plunged it into the couch next to him. In a matter of seconds, he held up a palm full of coins and what looked suspiciously like half of an old cookie. Jack had a bad habit of squirreling away desserts for later when he thought no one was looking. She must have missed that one.

Danny looked up at her. "Ghost powers? Remember? I'll just have a poke around inside the wall. We just have to shoo Dad out of the lab."

Maddie resisted the urge to, what did Danny and Tucker call it? Facepalm? That was it.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I forgot. It's one thing to know that your baby is half-ghost because of your own irresponsible actions; it's quite another to remember when you're looking at his sweet little face that he has strange mysterious powers."

Danny sighed. "Mom, it's not your fault, don't tell me that you've been feeling guilty this whole time?"

"Yea, Mrs. F." Tucker cut in. "If it's anyone's fault, blame Sam, she's the one who dared him to go inside the portal, and we all know he'd do anything she-hey!" Maddie had to stifle a chuckle as Danny and Sam simultaneously attacked Tucker. Danny pulled Tucker's beret down and rubbed it in his face while Sam swung out a leg and hooked her foot around Tucker's knee, pulling him into the floor.

"It's no one's fault, I'm not broken, I don't need to be fixed, and nobody is allowed to feel guilty, got it?" Danny looked around from face to face, a grim determination gracing his own features. Everyone mumbled an assenting response of some kind. "Good." He nodded and sat back on the sofa. "That's that then." He then shifted restlessly. "Are we gonna go get that stupid towel or what?"

Maddie left the children around the T.V. and headed down to the lab to see if she could pry Jack away.

"Jack? Honey?" Maddie quietly slipped into the lab to see Jack tinkering with some old pieces of inventions. He wasn't actually trying to do anything; he just tinkered when he was thinking.

"Hey Mads, what's up? Oh! Is there a ghost?" He looked up at her sharply, his enthusiasm high. "You know, we haven't run around town in the FFGAV stirring up trouble in a while, whaddya think? Sound like fun?"

"Oh sweetie, you know I'd love to, but I was just thinking about baking up a new batch of cookies, maybe with some butterscotch chips? And I know how you can't resist eating all the dough… So I was hoping maybe you could move up to the Ops Center for a bit?" Maddie smiled sweetly at Jack.

"Did you say butterscotch? Jumping gelatinous ghosts Mads, I'll do whatever you say!" Jack jumped up immediately, gathered a few things, and tore off towards the Ops Center. That was easier than expected.

Maddie never imagined she'd be down in the lab with all the children and Danny Phantom. She shook her head. He wasn't _just_ Danny Phantom, he was her baby boy. This whole thing was still taking a lot of getting used to and her mind was running overtime trying to wrap itself around everything.

Danny walked over to the west wall and placed his hand on it. Maddie watched in fascination as it seemed to melt before their very eyes. The transparency flowed out from his hand and down the wall like water. Within seconds, the metal plating of the lab wall seemed to be made from plexiglass. She could still make out the texture of the wall if she squinted, although it was more like a feeling rather than a concrete thing that she could see for certain.

"Aha!" Jazz shouted in victory. Nestled within the insulation and framework of the wall was what looked like a metal cabinet with two doors that swung outwards. Danny walked over to it, trailing the fingers of one hand against the wall. _He has to maintain contact for the wall to stay invisible_ Maddie realized. She was fascinated by the way the effect was heightened by the proximity of his hand. While there was no doubting that the surface of the entire wall had vanished from sight, it was also quite clear that the effect weakened the further it reached away from him. Once more he seemed to lose part of the corporealness of his other arm and he reached for the cabinet… Only to have his fingers crumple against the door.

He recoiled in shock and shook his hand with a cry. It probably hadn't hurt, but it had definitely startled him. Maddie was again fascinated by his abilities, she swore she could hear something as he severed his contact with the wall and the invisibility faded instantaneously away.

"What the heck was that?" Jazz asked, confused and startled as well.

"I don't know! It didn't feel like a ghost shield!" Danny cried.

"Mrs. F?" Tucker was looking expectantly up at her.

Maddie had to shake her head and refocus on the topic at hand. She'd have to convince Danny to show her what he could do some other time.

"I-I'm not sure. I didn't think Jack had any secrets from me, but I guess he does."

"Do you have any idea what's protecting that cabinet?" Sam questioned.

"Well, we were working on a prototype to a less noticeable kind of ghost shield, but I thought Jack scrapped that." Here she turned to her two children, though her breath still hitched for a minute when Danny stood in front of her as Phantom. "Your father isn't exactly the most on task person you know. He wanted to play with something a little more… explosive." Danny just snorted. Yep, as different as he looked, he was definitely still her Danny-boy. She knew she'd get used to it eventually; it would just take a little time.

"It didn't look like it had a lock, did it?" Sam asked.

"No." Jazz shook her head. "Danny, what if you just turn the wall intangible and we open it the old fashioned way?" Danny merely shrugged as he lifted his fingers back to the wall. Again, power seemed to flow from his fingertips and across the wall like ripples in a pond. The wall seemed to turn to mist right in front of Maddie's eyes. Danny looked up at her expectantly.

"Mom? If it's some kind of ghost shield, I can't really touch it. And I don't really want to take my chances. Some of your and Dad's inventions really hurt." He winced as he said the words and she grimaced.

"I'm sorry sweetheart." She felt so guilty that she had ever managed to hurt her baby.

"Don't get me wrong, a lot of them have really helped." Danny said, noticing her upset.

"Yea Mom" Jazz cut in. "I don't know what we'd do without the thermoses"

"Or the Fenton Phones" Tucker added.

"What about the Wrist Rays? They're the perfect accessory… of pain!" Sam could really be scary sometimes.

Maddie reached towards the handle, observing the strange tingle that came with plunging her hand through the wall. The whole room held its breath as her grip tightened around the handle and she tested it.

She could actually hear the exhale as the door opened easily, revealing a few random things, such as a half full box of tangled wires and assorted pieces of computer hardware. There were bottles of ash, vials of glowing goops and fluids, tattered scraps of fabric, and, on the top shelf, the towel, next to a leather bound notebook.

Maddie snatched the towel; then her hand hesitated over the notebook.

"Do you think that's Dad's journal?" Jazz asked. Maddie nodded, wide-eyed. She was a little hurt that Jack hadn't shared any of this with her.

"Why's he got so much junk hidden?" Tucker asked.

"Leave it to Dad to find value in worthless stuff." Danny said.

"Your father is a brilliant man Danny, don't forget that. He obviously saw something in this stuff. I just don't understand why he hid it from me." She quickly shut the door to the cabinet, resisting the urge to grab his journal. She was no creep.

Danny lifted his hand off of the wall, returning its tangibility. "Yea, well, I just know I'll be glad when that towel is out of my life. That thing can cause more trouble than Cujo."

Maddie looked down at the towel, then to Danny. She hated the thought of losing the chance to study the DNA. But he was right. She didn't know who this Cujo was, but the towel did have the potential to become a nightmare.

She nodded resolutely once, before looking to Danny. "Alright sweetie, blast it." His hand began to charge green and she tossed the mess of a towel into the air. There was a flash, and little flakes of ash rained down onto the lab floor.

"Mads?" Jack's voice carried down the stairs as he thundered to the first floor. Danny quickly reverted to his human state before Jack poked his head into the lab. "Mads, I thought you were going to make cook- Oh hey kids! What are you all doing in the lab? We have to leave your mother alone so that she can make cookies! Oh! Did you want to hear me blabber about ghosts?"

Suddenly, Jack had all four teens gathered up in his arms and was steering them about the lab, bouncing from gadget to doo-dad and explanation to story with all the attention span of an ADD puppy. Maddie could only shake her head and smile. Little did he know that the children probably already knew all of the things that he was telling them.

"Jack, sweetie?" She called out to him, but it was to no avail. She shook her head and smiled to herself again before climbing the stairs into the kitchen to start on the promised cookies.


	15. Epilogue

**I always end up forgetting and erasing my author's notes by re-uploading chapters once I've found and fixed spelling/grammar errors. Oh well. Anyway, here's the long awaited end to this story. Don't worry, all of the unresolved questions and conflicts will be taken care of in the sequel, I promise.**

* * *

Epilogue

Maddie was up late at night wandering the house once more. Everything was cleaned up, and everyone was tucked safe and sound into their beds. Or so she thought.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the front door. Maddie grabbed the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick for good measure before approaching the entry-way. She swung open the door immediately when greeted with the sight of Sam and Tucker propping up a semi-conscious and rapidly bleeding Danny in the pouring down rain through the peephole.

It had only been about a week, and she had yet to have a chance to pin down Danny and confront him about all the important things. And now here were the kids, soaking wet and trying to bleed out on her front porch.

Jazz was rocketing down the stairs, still hazy eyed from sleep, but carrying a first aid kit none the less. How had she never noticed this kind of thing happening in her own home?

The kids had Danny down on the couch and were grim-facedly tending his wounds before she could even react. When she saw the damage down to her baby, she couldn't help it. Her breast filled with steely rage.

"Who did this?" She demanded. The kids didn't react or signal in any way that they had heard or acknowledged her question.

"Who. Did. This?"

Tucker finally looked up, swallowing nervously. "Hard night out there tonight. You're looking at the work of about four or five of Danny's regular annoyances. It makes you a little bit prouder that he passed with a 2.3 this year, huh Mrs. F?" Tuck smiled at her, trying to calm her down.

Danny finally seemed to become aware of his surroundings, and looked up at Maddie, smiling half-heartedly. "Hey Mom. I'm fine, it's alright, I saved everybody. I'll be fine, I promise."

Maddie stroked her fingers through Danny's hair, and for once he didn't resist. "Sweetheart, how can you expect me to let you do this?"

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and looked on hers in fear. "You-you can't ask me to stop. I can't, I've tried. It-it's what I do Mom. I HAVE to. If I don't, who else will? It just, it feels right. It might…" His voice got quiet as his baby blues stared into her eyes hard. "I think it might be my obsession." He swallowed hard. "Please don't think I'm a freak."

Maddie's eyes softened immediately. Every ghost had an obsession. Apparently, half-ghosts might have one too.

"Danny." Maddie spoke calmly and quietly. All four of her beautiful children turned their brave faces to look up at her. She didn't care if she hadn't birthed two of them herself, they were HERS. "I need you to do something." Apprehension filtered through everyone's gaze.

"I need to know everything. And I mean everything. From the beginning."

They all opened their mouths to start from the beginning, but she cut them off.

"And not just me. Your father too. We need to hear everything at the same time. I'll leave you to do it on your own timeframe, but it needs to happen by the end of the month. I'll support however you choose to do it, but I can't keep any more secrets from your father. There are too many secrets in this house, it's not healthy."

Four stunned faces stared back up at her. "I'm having a hard time getting used to everything, and I think both your father and I deserve to know everything so that we can make the best parenting choice possible, given the circumstances. You are all my children; I couldn't live with myself if I weren't doing my absolute best to keep you all safe. Please respect what I'm asking of you." Maddie finished her firm plea and took in the expressions on their faces.

Everyone waited for Danny to say something. He swallowed hard, then nodded his head. "Okay. I just, I never wanted to disappoint you guys… I don't want him to look at me and see a half-breed failure. I can't, I just, I don't think I could live with that."

"Oh sweetheart" Maddie returned to stroking Danny's hair as the other three finished wrapping his bandages and began cleaning up the detritus.

"You have to know that your father and I will always be proud of you." She lifted her gaze to encompass all four children. "All of you. We'll always be proud of all of you."

Danny met her gaze, looked to his three comrades, then looked back to Maddie before nodding. "Alright, I'll do it."

* * *

**Drop me a review to let me know what you think if you want. I keep getting all depressed by the lack of reviews after having had so many for so long. I guess I'm review greedy. Heaven knows I don't deserve them for dragging this thing through the mud and then abandoning it for a while. It's not pretty, but I'd like to think I've cleaned it up a bit. The OOCness bothers me, but as I've grown I've made the characters grow up as well by accident. I'll have to work on that. Like I said, let me know what you think and if you'd want to see a sequel. Thanks for being there with me on this crazy ride. See ya' 'round.**

**-psk**


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